Police arrest two in Taskforce Hawk probe into major Big Build labour hire firm

Detectives have charged a man with using false documents after raiding the headquarters of a labour hire firm that worked on major projects including the West Gate Tunnel.

Allegations a CFMEU-linked labour hire company “falsified” invoices led to the arrests of two people as part of the police probe into the embattled building industry.

Detectives arrested two 66-year-olds during a raid of the BK Labour Hire headquarters in Port Melbourne on Wednesday.

Fraser Coast Regional Council staff will rally outside the council offices in Hervey Bay on Friday afternoon after negotiations between the council senior bureaucracy and seven unions representing the council workforce broke down earlier this week.

“Police will allege invoices were falsified and are investigating a number of other payments and cash withdrawals,” police said in a statement. “The arrests are part of a broader Taskforce Hawk investigation into the labour hire industry.

“Investigators from the taskforce have been working with the Labour Hire Authority which has also been investigating the company’s compliance with legal obligations under the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018.”

Construction sites of Melbourne's Metro Tunnel Project in the CBD. Workers at the City Square site. Picture: Ian Currie

The Labour Hire Authority on Wednesday issued BK Labour Hire with “enforcement action” which will likely see its license cancelled.

The Middle Park man, 66, was charged with one count of using a false document.

He was bailed to appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on June 19 next year.

The Docklands woman was released pending further inquiries.

The Labour Hire Authority earlier this month took steps to begin cancelling the licenses of both BK Labour Hire and Speedpro Industries.

BK Labour Hire has been involved across Big Build projects over the past decade, including on level crossing removals, the $10.2bn West Gate Tunnel, and the $15.5bn Metro Tunnel.

It formed a close alliance with the CFMEU, which saw it gain more work on civil construction sites that were being taken over by the militant union before it was placed into administration last year.

The company provides workers across a range of construction services to tier one contractors such as John Holland and Multiplex, offering services such as traffic management, general labour, and excavation.

In an email seen by the Herald Sun, the company without warning last month flagged that it was shutting up shop permanently on December 19 despite stating it was “solvent”. It’s understood in recent weeks that staff were off loaded to other labour hire companies on at least one major Victorian Government job site.

CFMEU protest in Williams st Melbourne outside the Magistrates Court for John Setka. John leaves court after the hearing. Picture: Alex Coppel.

The company has also supplied workers to several level crossing removal jobs. Detectives from Hawk hit former CFMEU boss John Setka with further charges last week.

BK Labour Hire was contacted for comment.

Originally published as Police arrest two in Taskforce Hawk probe into major Big Build labour hire firm